Put simply, Gathering Storm checks all the boxes of what a great expansion should be and is a must own for hardcore Civilization VI fans looking for a reason to spice things up in an incredibly positive way or get back into the game if they’ve been dormant.

Civilization has always been a board game too complicated to play with cardboard and plastic pieces. Gathering Storm takes that complexity to new levels of simulation, but it is so well presented you never feel overwhelmed. I’m an easy mark for a new Civilization, but I have no fear in saying that Gathering Storm is one of the most creative and significant expansions a Civilization game has ever received.

Like a good wine Civilization gets better with age. Gathering Storm combines fantastic new ideas like natural catastrophes and climate change with fan favorite features like the world congress to bring Civ 6 to its high point.

Gathering Storm succeeds in the difficult task of refreshing Civ VI experience while keeping its spirit intact. The environmentalist theme is pretty spot on and the renewed diplomatic options will make it the ideal expansion for those who don't measure their success in terms of the length of their artillery.

Gathering Storm is a great Civilization VI expansion. The new gameplay mechanics add a new strategic layer to this 4X. The future technologies bring more fun in the late game and the diplomacy system works well.

Gathering Storm is overall a great expansion, ushering in two significant new systems that work hand in hand to deepen the experience. The embellished diplomatic options extend the range of interactions with other leaders, allowing you to work cooperatively towards common goals or pull the strings to your advantage behind the scenes. While the introduction of climate change delivers new strategic choices whose consequences resonate ever-more-loudly as you advance throughout the eras. It isn't simply more Civ, it's a whole new way to play Civ.

Climate change is not a new thing for Civ, but it has been missing in a few games. It may sound strange, but it is very nice to have it back in Gathering Storm as it adds a lot of depth.

The astute Civ player can shape the history of their nation and craft a story for the ages with with pinpoint accuracy. The Gathering Storm enriches this experience by giving you more ways to add subtle realism to how the world evolves around you and how you can directly affect it. With so many new and returning features, it’s hard not to recommend this expansion to Civ fans, turning an already great game into one for the literal ages.

Gathering Storm enhances Civilization VI to such a degree that it is hard to think of this as anything other than the best possible Civ game. The array of new features make every match more interesting, and will keep you coming back for more time and time again.

With great changes to to diplomacy, units and new climatic events, Gathering Storm is this year justification to return to Civilization VI.

Gathering Storm makes impressive progress compared with Rise & Fall. The importance of this DLC to Civ 6 is just like Brave New World to Civ 5.

The Gathering Storm features a long checklist of other new additions, including 18 new units, 9 new world leaders, 9 new technologies, and 10 new civics. These are all nice little bonuses, but Gathering Storm’s world congress and natural-disaster system are robust enough to make Civilization feel fresh. The Gathering Storm adds new layers to Civilization VI’s incredibly deep strategy system, but taming the planet remains far from simple.

Gathering Storm is an easy recommendation for all Civilization fans that are looking to breathe new life into the Civ VI experience, and a great entry point to the series for newcomers looking to get in on the action.

A bursting-at-the-seams expansion that leaves few systems without substantial improvement and new content. Its new civs and leaders are distinctive and its natural disasters are meaningful without feeling as cruel and unfair as their real-life counterparts, though they are sometimes a tad too predictable.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm is the only game in existence that can keep me awake all night. I’ve been playing games for more than two decades, and very few games managed to rob me of my sleep. Civilization is definitely one of them. While I do love the game and I enjoyed the expansion, I also must be fair and critique the fact that Civilization VI now feels more cluttered than ever. The religion aspect is way out of proportion, barbarians spawning tanks are annoying, and some of the environmental disasters seem out of place or triggered randomly. Civilization VI: Gathering Storm is not perfect, but it made Civilization VI better overall, and that’s pretty much what people want from an expansion.

Gathering Storm is an ambitious expansion full of welcome additions, even if it does falter at the end.

Gathering Storm is a very good expansion that highly enriches the endgame by adding the global warming issue, and asking the player to deal with it.

Global warming isn’t truly catastrophic, diplomatic victory falls a bit flat, but there are plenty of very good minor improvements - and they are crowned by a slew of fantastic new civilizations.

Known long-time fans of the series have put in far less time playing VI than they did previous titles, and I am no exception. The Rise and Fall expansion did little to improve this and I found it to be among the weakest expansions ever released for the franchise. Gathering Storm, though, sings a different tune and may be one of the best. It introduces possibly the best diplomacy system I’ve seen in any game, and a climate change mechanic that ticks boxes I’ve long wished to be there.

Gathering Storm offers an interesting take on the formula, with less focus on the martial side of the civilizations, maybe to make easier to reach the modern eras. It is, overall, a very good expansion that brings more Civilization and gives it its own flavor.

The latest Civilization VI expansion handles a difficult subject matter with great insight and in a way that improves the game and makes you think of the world beyond it.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm makes Civilization VI feel complete, thanks mostly to the great new civs and small quality of life improvements.

Bringing a new level of complexity and strategy with it, Gathering Storm forces you to participate in diplomacy in later eras and offers new ways to succeed with certain play styles.

The perfect excuse to return to the world of Civilization VI.

Civilization 6: Gathering Storm is a good expansion with content targeted to the final part of the game.

With Gathering Storm, Civilization VI gets even richer and turns into a true mastodon of the 4X strategy. However, the "new" diplomacy and the World Congress pay the price of an outdated artificial intelligence that struggles to control all the aspects proposed by the Firaxis game.

Even if it doesn’t bring as many changes as Rise and Fall, Gathering Storm rebalances Civilization VI with many little good ideas, making the game more complete and polished than ever.

Gathering Storm comes with some minor drawbacks, but I can easily recommend it to fans of Civilization VI. Bear in mind, though, that the new additions and tweaks in the mechanics may require some getting used to. Furthermore, the roster of civilizations hasn't been better in a very long time.

Gathering Storm is a good extension, and the ecology/pollution is a good surprise. On an other hand, diplomacy and the National Congress is lack of depth.

The new World Congress and climate change mirror real-life in that they're partly beyond your control, making them hard to factor into your schemes. The new civs are among the best and most novel in the game, though.

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm has new leaders, wonders, and mechanics to freshen up your experience. Unfortunately, some of these features occur fairly late, or are non-factors in your playthroughs.

In the end, Gathering Storm brings a few new toys to the sixth entry of the classical turn-based franchise, but does hedge a few bets on the natural disaster part of the deal. While those are an interesting addition, they are not meaningful enough to spearhead a whole expansion – and certainly not at the full prices charged by 2K.

Gathering Storm brings a few notable additions to Civilization 6, but most of them are half-baked. When combined with Rise & Fall, they drastically change the original formula, yet I can’t shake the feeling that this expansion could have been so much better.

In a new addition to the Sixth Civilization, you deal with the environment. You'll be pleased by the World Congress and a more interesting diplomacy. However, it gets difficult to navigate in the flood of details. [Issue#294]

There is a fear in Firaxis to truly revolutionize the gameplay and it’s a shame that Gathering Storm’s potentially exciting new mechanics actually modify it ever so slightly. [03/2019, p.52]

Gathering Storm offers a mixed bag. The ambition is clear, with climate change and the World Congress being major changes that sadly fails to fully live up to their potential. At the same time, the new resource mechanics are engaging, and the new leaders and other additions make for an expansion filled with content. Nevertheless, Gathering Storm does not live up to the standards set by last year's expansion, Rise and Fall.